[Aquifina]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

When people become an ex-whatever there can be a strong desire on their parts to stop other people from going down the same "wrong path" that they did.

I see a lot of that in Yuuta - A fierce shame and loathing over what he used to be, and hence a deep exasperation at what Rikka is like now.

Yuuta has so deeply rejected the person he used to be, that every time a person even just plays along with Rikka he gets seriously put-off by it. I could just feel Yuuta's world crumbling down as the widely respected and popular Shinka now wants to join Rikka's club as well. No doubt the world has gone mad, and completely topsy-turvy, in Yuuta's eyes.


It's going to be interesting to see how Yuuta reacts to this next episode. If he reflects much on it at all, he'll certainly realize that it would now actually hurt his social life if he keeps up a strict anti-Chunnibyou approach given how all of these cute girls are totally embracing it. His whole rationale for rejecting Chunnibyou has been completely turned on its head.

Basically, Yuuta has a choice between the entirety of his potential 4-girl harem and continuing to totally reject Chunnibyou. As much as a man may value his sanity, I think most hot-blooded men would value something a bit more here.


My guess is that Yuuta will slowly - Very, very slowly (Kyon/Oreki-esque) - be won over by the sheer bubbly weight of the cute girls pushing him to play along with Rikka. And then, like Kyon/Oreki, he'll start to find himself surprisingly enjoying it, almost in spite of himself.

This will probably take awhile, but I do think it'll eventually happen.


As for shipping wars, I'm going to wait and see on that. Right now, I think that Yuuta likes Shinka, Shinka likes Yuuta, and Rikka really likes Yuuta (I honestly feel a bit sorry for Rikka; she's really going through a heck of a lot to try to win this guy over).


Anyway, Episode 3 was another pretty fun watch. Bolo-hair girl was certainly something else. She really rounds out this cast well!

I think this analysis is pretty much spot on, although I don't think Yuuta really has much of an interest in a harem, which is a *good* thing. He'll join the club, just because Shinka wants to be in it.

I also wonder if Yuuta will ever really warm to Rikka's antics, in the way you describe. Like Kyon, he may rediscover the charm of things he thought he gave up on, but while Kyon was listless and purposeless until he met Haruhi, Yuuta has a real passion for being "normal"; it's not just adopting social conventions out of inertia (Oreki is another obvious comparison here, as you point out). Also, because Rikka (unlike Haruhi) does NOT have real special powers, I think it makes more sense for Yuuta to be a more committed straight man than Kyon was, so Yuuta can keep Rikka's weirdness in check, while understanding her the best, and also building bridges to "normal" people. The lunch scene shows that Rikka is socially isolated to some degree, even though so many "normal" students seem surprisingly accepting of her antics.